Into the Shadow Wood
by The DIMSKUL Sisters
Summary: The Fellowship must travel along the Anduin on foot, through the foreboding shadow wood. The wood is full of dangerous creatures, renegade orcs, and some odd ladies who are quite interested in Frodo and Legolas. **MOVED**
1. Proluge

Brown-haired chick: Greetings and ultimate spiffyness to you on this fine day.  
Other brown haired chick: What she said.  
Brown-haired chick: I'm Kate, otherwise known as StarKateFLG/Supreme Frodo lover. And this *gestures to Other brown haired chick* is my buddy Lizz, otherwise known as supreme Legolas lover.  
Lizz: Yo!  
Kate: This is a joint fanfic which Lizz and I wrote together after reading a not-so-spiffy story that trashed everyone's favorite furry-footed short people and caused poor Legolas much heartbreak.  
Lizz: It did not make us happy.  
Kate: Therefore we wrote THIS! *gestures to as of now unfinished fanfic*  
Lizz: Just to put Tolkein's lawyers at ease, we don't own anything that has to do with Lord of the Rings. However, the two new characters in this story, Reowyn and Andtauriel, are completely ours. Therefore you cannot sue us for writing about them.  
Kate: Aint that spiffy? This is one of our more serious endeavors, despite our unnaturally silly natures. The story takes place near the end of the Fellowship of the Ring, during a time I made up in which the Fellowship must walk along the river Anduin on foot instead of taking their boats down it. This is after they've left Lorien, but before they've all split up. We do indeed realize this disrupts the canon of the FotR, but hey- it's just a fanfic.  
Lizz: But by now we're tired of disclaiming, so onto the fanfic.  
Kate: FRODO LIVES! *waves banner*  
  
Chapter 1   
Our story begins in a forest during the day.   
A young girl has been traveling from forest to forest, for the sole reason to survive and figure out what to do with her life. She, being an elf, was 2,015 years old, equivalent to about 23 years old to a human.   
The girl walked a while and found herself at an old wooden gate that was falling apart. There were several gaps in it, and she found no purpose in it being there, so she climbed over and walked on. A moment later she saw a sign on a tree. It read, "You are entering The Shadow-wood. There is much danger here, turn back now."   
She ignored it and walked on. The place looked like any other forest, with the exception of a strange plant growing there that she'd never seen. Finally, being very curious, she stopped by a tree to look more closely at one. She took but one more step towards the plant, and suddenly something wrapped around her ankle and pulled up, hanging her from the tree. Her sword, bow, and arrows all dropped to the ground and she couldn't figure out how to undo the rope. It was very tight and hurt a bit too. She tried grabbing the branch she was hanging from, but was unsuccessful. Finally she just let herself hang, hoping somehow she'd find away down.  
That's when she saw someone come out from behind a   
tree and approach her with a sword.   
"Well, well. Look what I caught." the person said in a soft voice as a it walked towards the upside down elf. From her awkward position, the elf tried to get a good look at her captor.  
The person who had set the trap was female, and very small. She was too small to be an elf, yet didn't seem to be a child, and her ears were too pointed to be those of a human. Her feet, though very large and bare, were hairless and she was too tall to be a Halfling. The open sword in the captor's hand gleamed with a luster saved for items of great magic and importance, yet she used it to cut the vine holding the elf up as if it were a simple knife. As the elf landed, the small lady pushed her bow and arrows away with her large feet and placed the tip of the sword near her captive's neck.  
"I am not accustomed to elves in my wood. Perhaps you did not mean to come here. It would not surprise me. Who are you?" she said in her soft, inquisitive voice.  
But she did not get a chance to hear her captive's answer because a sound suddenly caught her pointed ears. She abruptly drew her sword away from the elves neck and whirled around just in time to impale a goblin with leapt from the foliage with an axe upon her. The goblin fell quickly, but it's companions soon followed and the small lady was immediately consumed by the vicious battle for her life, as well as that of her captive, who the goblins would not have minded killing in the least. With a last powerful stroke, the small lady hewed the head from the last goblin, but not before it managed to deliver a deep scratch to her forearm with it's knife. As the small lady grabbed the wound, a goblin who had remained hidden crept quietly up behind her, with it's axe raised high. As it tensed to slice the small lady's head off with a powerful blow, a bow suddenly sang and an elfish arrow flew deep into the goblin's back. It croaked and fell over as the small lady turned around to see who had shot the arrow that saved her.  
The elf-girl lowered her bow, which she had picked up during the fight, and smiled at her small captor. The lady returned the smile, and raised her sword to sever the ties around the elf's ankles. She held out her hand to the much taller being. An unspoken friendship began to form between the two.  
Once more, a sound caught the small lady's ears, but this time she leapt upward and began to climb to the top of a tall tree. The elf followed her, curious as to what had now attracted the small person's attention, and looked out across the river to three specks that were traveling down it.  
"More are coming," the small lady said, and she sat down to watch them approach. 


	2. The Fellowship Leaves the Anduin

Chapter 2 -  
Frodo was roused from his slumber upon the third gray day of traveling the Anduin by an unusual rocking of the elven-boat. Sitting up, he saw a most abrupt change in the land from the flat gray lands and reeds that had covered the banks of the river since leaving Lothlorien. Upon the left bank there grew a most impressive forest - tall, thick, and dark as night. Mirkwood could have hardly been more foreboding.  
"Where are we?" Frodo asked of Aragorn, who was steering towards the forest.  
"We've come to the White Falls, a set of rapids on the Anduin." Aragorn replied. "Even in Elfish boats, we dare not try to continue on the river. The crafts will not founder, but small passengers can be thrown from their seats on rough water."  
"What is that wood?" Frodo asked, pointing at the dark forest. "And why are we making for it?"  
"That is the Shadow-wood, and we must journey through it until we reach calmer waters." Aragorn said, and Frodo shuddered. Tales of the Shadow-Wood of the South were fierce and terrible. He would have much rather braved the White Falls than the dark wood.  
"Why aren't we making for the opposite bank? The Shadow-wood can't be much safer than the river." Frodo said, staring transfixed at the dark trees.  
"Few know that the Wastes of Shadow, the plains opposite the Shadow-wood, are more dangerous than the forest. All the evil creatures that roam the forest came from the Wastes. We would be safer by far in the Wood."  
Frodo was not sure he agreed, but the other two boats had already reached the shore under the forest and soon he felt the grate of sand underneath the boat in which he rode. As he climbed out of the boat, a dark shape crawling out of the water across the bank caught his eye.  
"Sam!" he hissed, grabbing his servant's arm. Sam looked across the river and watched as the dark shape disappeared among the reeds.  
"Gollum, I suppose. But what's he doing on that side of the river?" Sam wondered. "Still, if he's over there he won't be getting to us so easy."  
The dark shape slipped away and Sam turned back to the rest of the Fellowship. Frodo slowly tore his eyes away from the opposite bank and followed the Fellowship into the trees, as Legolas suggested that they would be safer in the trees.  
Upon entering the forest, Frodo suddenly felt as though something was staring at him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw nothing, but the top of a tall tree rustled faintly. Frodo hurried foreword to keep up with the Fellowship.  
Sam turned around when he noticed his master was missing. As Frodo rushed back towards the group, Sam caught a glimpse of green eyes staring out of the darkness. He blinked suddenly and they were gone. Sam frantically seized his master's arm and pointed in the direction of the eyes.  
"Mr. Frodo! Something's out there, I saw eyes in the bushes!"  
"I know. Something is following us, Sam." Frodo replied, and Sam was surprised by his calm tone.  
"Gollum?" Sam asked. Frodo hesitated before answering.  
"No. Not Gollum. I don't think Gollum made it across the river to the forest." Frodo stared into the dark foliage as he spoke.  
"Keep your eyes open, Sam." Frodo turned and followed the rest of the Fellowship, following the light elven-crafts held up by Boromir, Aragorn, and Legolas.  
  
As night fell the Fellowship reluctantly made camp underneath the dark boughs of an ancient oak tree that grew directly out of the path. Boromir objected to sleeping out in the open, but Aragorn insisted that they must not travel through the Shadow-Wood after nightfall, nor should they stray from the path for any reason.  
"The wood hides many evils, many of which are beyond our power. We are safer here than anywhere else in the wood."   
Aragorn sat down against the massive tree and would say nothing more on the subject. The Fellowship set down the elven-boats and quietly ate their sharings of the lembas from the Lady. A heavy silence that seemed to be a part of the forest itself settled down upon them. It was Legolas who finally broke it.  
"Legend says there is a Lady whose duty it is to protect a great treasure hidden in this forest from evil hands." he said quietly, his gaze locked on the slender crescent moon suspended above the trees.  
"Another elf-queen?" Frodo asked, thinking of the feeling of eyes upon the back of his neck and the shadow that had been watching them.  
"Some say so. Others say she is human. Others say she is neither, a mixture of many people." Legolas said quietly, his eyes wandering.  
"Perhaps she is a Halfling!" Boromir laughed.  
"Whatever she is, it is not wise to mock her in her own domain." Aragorn said quietly.  
The silence was broken as Legolas reached for his bow and arrows. At the same time, Frodo heard the faint sounds of creatures crashing through the undergrowth while yelling in the horrible language of Mordor.  
"Yrch!" Legolas shouted as the terrible howls came closer. Frodo drew String, which was glowing bright blue, from it's sheath and raised it in defense.  
"Again!" Sam sighed "I suppose it's a bit much to ask for, but if only they would leave us alone enough for us to get a decent rest. . .!"  
"Just don't get killed, Sam." Frodo replied as the orcs burst onto the path. 


	3. The Elf Appears

Chapter 3  
*Kate and Lizz enter *  
Lizz: We're back!  
Kate: We KNOW you missed us!  
Lizz: Now, I know you think we're going to begin to tell you about how the Lord of the Rings characters aren't ours but Reowyn and Andtauriel are.   
Kate: Guess what? You were RIGHT!  
Lizz: As much as we would like to own Legolas………  
Kate: and Frodo!  
Lizz: Yeah, and bigfoot, we don't. Lord of the rings is just……..not ours. * sniff*  
Kate: WHAT?!??!?!?!   
Lizz: However, Reowyn and Andtauriel are strictly OURS!!!!!  
Kate: * fumes*   
Lizz: ehhh…..*backs up * I think we should let you get on with the story. BYE!  
Kate: * chases Lizz around with a sword*  
  
In the dark woods, shrouded in mist, with a crescent moon looming overhead, two dark figures hid in a tree, watching over The Fellowship. One was Andtauriel, the small lady of the forest, the other Reowyn. Reowyn was a tall, black hared, Elfish girl. At the age of six her parents abandoned her. They were runaways who had opposed Sauron and were escaping to save their child. They knew she would be safer alone in the woods than with them on their quests to stop evil. So she raised herself in the woods on the outskirts of an Elfin town. She watched the children in their schools through windows, and the warriors practicing for battles. From this she learned the ways of archery, swordsmanship, and a few languages. Despite limited education, she was clever.   
Reowyn and Andtauriel had been watching these new people. There were eight, though a ninth was mentioned. There were two men, Boromir and Aragorn, a Dwarf, Gimli, four hobbits, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Frodo, and an elf, Legolas. They had learned a great deal about them in a short period of time. They had found out why they were there….they were on their way to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. And they knew a little bit about each of their personalities. Reowyn was especially impressed with Legolas, though she said nothing to Andtauriel. Her friend didn't seem to think that much of these newcomers to her forest.   
"Reowyn." Whispered Andtauriel. "I'm going over to the river to see if there are any attackers. I will return here by morning. I trust that you can take care of   
yourself."  
"You worry to much" mumbled Reowyn, who was gazing upon the strangers and trying to figure things out.   
"Well, you're not cautious enough. Very well. Oh, by the way Reowyn, you have a stick in your hair."  
Saying not another word, Andtauriel climbed out of the tree and ran off to the river. Reowyn took the stick out of her hair and was about to throw it to the ground when she heard some noises from below. She gently put the stick down and peered through   
the branches.  
Bellow, five orcs were quietly approaching the spot where the group was sleeping. Each pulled out a sword and was prepared to attack. Reowyn gasped and reached for a thick vine. It stretched to the other tree where she and Andtauriel had tied it so they could easily swing back and forth. There were several of these throughout the Shadow-wood, so they could get from place to place quickly.   
She saw the orcs moving closer. One orc raised its sword above Legolas, about to swing. With a quick grab she took the vine and swung down, knocking the orc above   
Legolas over into the tree. This distracted the other orcs and they went to attack her. Reowyn jumped from the vine and took out her sword.She slayed the first orc easily, then two others. The next one, though, was larger than the other two. It had strong armor everywhere but the head, so she aimed at its eye. The huge orc dodged the shot with ease and grabbed her sword. With one powerful swipe, he swung the sword down. She managed to move enough so it didn't chop her in half, but inthe process the sword made a gash on her leg. She screamed and fell over, waking the fellowship. Legolas, Boromir, Aragorn and Gimli leaped up and began to fight off the orcs. They seemed unaware of the young girl on the ground. The four hobbits took out swords for protection, but let the others do the fighting.   
In less than two minutes, the orcs were gone. The four hobbits went back to lying down, as did Gimli. Boromir, Legolas, and Aragorn loomed over Reowyn."Who are you, what are you doing here?" asked a glaring Boromir.Reowyn stuttered, trying to explain.  
"I…….I was over in a tree watching and I saw these…..those th-things and so i…."  
Boromir interrupted.  
"Watching? From a tree?" he turned to the other two. "She's a spy! I say we kill her."  
Boromir raised his sword above the white faced girl. Aragorn snatched it out of his hand.  
"Hold on, we don't know that." He said calmly.   
"Why else would this girl be in a tree watching us? Kill   
her and be done with it!" Boromir grabbed his sword back from Aragorn and prepared again to kill Reowyn.  
"Wait!" yelled Legolas. He pointed at her. "Look, at her   
ears. She's an elf." Boromir grabbed Reowyn by her arm and pulled her up. He   
looked at her ears, then at her bow and arrows.   
"The bow and arrows are Elfish too" pointed out Aragorn. He put his hand on her shoulder. She shivered and looked at him with eyes like saucers.   
"Don't be afraid girl." Said Legolas. "Come with us, we   
won't hurt you."  
Reowyn hesitated. I don't know these people yet. She thought. But…the man Aragorn and the elf seem to be friendly enough…all right I'll trust them. And anyway, I can't run, my leg hurts too much. Reluctantly she went with them down to the camp, where they sat her on a rock. Legolas took out some herbs from a bag and put them on the cut. Then Aragorn went about bandaging them. Boromir shot an untrusting look at the girl, then fell asleep with the others.  
Aragorn finished bandaging Reowyn's leg.   
"How much does it hurt?" he asked.   
"It feels more numb than painful now…thank you." She replied at a whisper. Legolas was curious about her, as was Aragorn. In unison they asked,  
"Who are you?"  
With more confidence than before, she told them,   
"My name is Reowyn. I'm an elf, as you noticed, and I grew up in the wild. I'm here just because its somewhere to be, no other reason. I'm with a friend but she is off somewhere. I was honestly not trying to spy on you, but we were very curious about you. Andtauriel, my friend, said we should watch you and find out if you're dangerous before we do anything. As for the part with the orcs, I saw them attacking your group. The one above Legolas was swinging to strike, so my first action was to help. I swung down on that…" she motioned to a branch "and knocked it. Then I tried to fight them……….but that big one got my sword and cut me. Then you guys came……..and I guess that's it." When she had finished she looked curiously at both of them, wondering what they would do.   
"Well, I find no harm in her." Legolas began. "And she is an elf, we Elves are against the Dark Lord, not with him. I think we should trust this girl and let her come with us."   
"I agree." Aragorn turned to Reowyn and said, "Unless you decide otherwise, we would much like for you to join us. Are you any good at fighting?"  
"Yes….." she replied "I can shoot a bow and use a sword just as well as any other elf of my age."   
Satisfied, Legolas and Aragorn grinned and welcomed her. Then they made a spot for her to sleep, between the two of them for safety. Without anymore fears, Reowyn fell asleep.  



	4. The Spy

Lizz: We're back! Didja miss us?  
Kate: We know you did, so we'll just get to the important stuff.   
Lizz: We apologize for the length of time it took to get this chapter up. A certain short co-authoress of this fanfic had a case of writers block *glare @Kate*.  
Kate: *pouts* Humph. In reference to the question posed by Lestats Savage Garden, I am a fan of both the book and movie Frodo as well as Elijah Wood *grin*  
Lizz: And I think Orlando Bloom needs to grow out his hair and dye it blonde. Legolas rules. And even though everyone knows this already, we don't own anything Lord of the Rings.  
Kate: Now onto Chapter 4 - finally!  
  
Chapter 4 -  
It was to her great surprise that upon her return Andtauriel found her new friend Reowyn asleep between two of the strangers. Perhaps she was their captive, but she didn't seem to be tied. Andtauriel quietly dropped down from the tree branch she had been sitting on and made her way slowly towards the dark-haired elf girl. When she was quite sure her friend was in no danger of being kidnapped, she moved on and began to inspect the strangers as they slept.  
The man, elf, and dwarf held no interest for her as soon as she was sure they concealed nothing out of the ordinary. She had little concern for them to begin with - her interest lay in the hobbits.  
A soft sound caught her attention and she looked up - a man was awake, apparently on guard, but he was sitting, his back towards her. Andtauriel ignored him. He would never hear her. Even if he turned, he would never see her. The shadows did much to hide her.  
She crept close to the four small, sleeping figures. How long had it been since she had seen a hobbit? Years and years. . . before she had even known of the Shadow-wood. She suppressed a sigh. How she missed the sight of the Shire, of the gentle land to the North. A thought struck her - perhaps she knew one of these hobbits. She hadn't yet been able to closely look at their faces. But it had been so long since she visited the Shire. It was doubtful she would be able to tell. Still, she crept foreword and peered at the face of the nearest one. He was a young hobbit, and she didn't recognize him. She moved onto the next and was greeted with a similar sight. The third hobbit seemed more troubled than the first two. His sleeping face was contorted into a slight frown. Andtauriel wondered what could make him so concerned. But she didn't know him. She moved onto the fourth and gently lifted the corner of cloak which covered his face. Her touch was so light he didn't even stir. Andtauriel studied him closely.  
He was fairer of face than hobbits are apt to be. Andtauriel wasn't sure if she had seen him before or not - if she had, it would be difficult to tell. The last time she saw a hobbit was when she was a child. She gazed at the hobbit's face, at his closed eyes, and wondered of the color beneath the lids. As she watched him, his face contorted slightly - his dreams were troubled. Something was concealed about him. Andtauriel found herself reaching foreword, curious as to what he could carry that yet eluded her senses and gently brushed a strand of curly hair off his forehead. She rested her fingers lightly on his forehead, and he relaxed.  
"May your dreams be peaceful," she murmured, a small smile forming on her lips.  
A sudden sound of fear made her raise her head - one of the hobbits was awake! Andtauriel leapt back and drew her sword out of it's sheath. A blinding flash issued from the blade and in an instant she had disappeared and woken up the entire Fellowship.  
Sam rubbed his eyes and hurried towards Frodo. Boromir, who had been on guard, leapt towards the hobbits, his sword drawn. Sam leaned foreword and frantically began to shake Frodo, who groaned and rolled over, much to Sam's relief.  
"What is it, Sam? Stop that now, I'm awake!" he protested.  
"Something was crouching over you, Mr. Frodo! I woke up and saw it sitting right as close to you as I am now a-staring at you, then it saw me and there was a bright light and it disappeared!" Sam blurted out.  
"Did you see what it was, Sam?" Aragorn asked, coming up behind the distressed hobbit.  
"No sir, it was too dark for me to get a good look. But when it saw me it just disappeared in a flash of light!" Sam said.  
"Are you hurt, Frodo?" Aragorn asked.  
"Not at all." Frodo replied, touching his forehead. "You didn't see anything of it, Sam?"  
"No, nothing. Just a dark shape and a bright light." Sam said, shaking his head. Boromir continued to stare off the path, looking for any signs of life, and slowly sheathed his sword. He shook his head.  
"How anything came so close to the Ringbearer is beyond me. I heard nothing - I saw nothing."  
"Perhaps it was Andtauriel." came the soft voice of the elf lady, Reowyn. "She moves very quietly, and she has in her possession a sword of great power, which would account for the light Sam saw. She is mistrustful of travelers in the forest."  
"How do you know this Andtauriel?" Aragorn asked her. "Who is she? What interest would she have in Frodo?"  
"Andtauriel saved my life, and I hers, not long ago. I'm not quite sure who she is, but she seems to protect the forest, or something in it. She was probably curious as to who you were and why you were here." Reowyn replied.  
"How do we know this Andtauriel is worthy of trust?" Boromir asked. "Perhaps she is in line with the Dark Lord and wants to return the One Ring to his possession. Why does she not reveal herself?" he glared suspiciously at Reowyn, as if adding that he suspected her to be in line with Sauron as well.  
"I trust Andtauriel with my life." Reowyn said. "I doubt she even knows the hobbit carries the Ring. And by no means is she in legion with the Dark Lord!" she continued, her voice rising heatedly as she defended her friend. Legolas placed a hand on her shoulder.  
"This Andtauriel sounds remarkably like the Shadow maiden of lore. Do you know anything else of her?" he said. Reowyn paused.  
"No," she said at last. "I know very little else of her. I don't even know what she is. She is a strange looking creature. But regardless, I trust her." she glared at Boromir as if daring him to challenge her further. Boromir did not return her gaze, and turned his head to the side as if watching for a misshapen figure to appear on the path. But none came.  
Frodo remained silent. Just before his abrupt awakening, he had been having an unpleasant dream that he was under the lidless eye again, with Sauron watching his every move as the Ring slowly spiraled into the flames of the eye. He had been about to cry out when a strange feeling of calm overtook him. A spot on his forehead tingled. The Ring fell back into his hand, and the eye disappeared, replaced with the green fields of the Shire, and a tall (by Hobbit-reckoning) figure standing atop a green hill when Sam had awoken him. And still his forehead was tingling slightly.  
  
Above the Fellowship, Andtauriel cursed herself. She had become careless and allowed her guard to slip. Why had the fourth hobbit caught her attention so?  
She crept nimbly along the tree branch she was perched on and settled down near the trunk to sleep. The group would move, perhaps, but she would be able to track them. It was all the same to her wherever they went. And she wanted to find out more about that hobbit - and whatever it was he had in his possession.  
  
The woods were brighter the next morning when the Fellowship started down the path again. Reowyn continued to follow them, and Frodo still had the feeling he was being watched. Boromir was rather dismayed that Reowyn would not leave the Fellowship, but secretly Frodo was glad for her company. She seemed to at least know a bit about the woods. Aragorn, Ranger though he was, had not ever traveled through the Shadow-wood and had a very limited knowledge of it.  
Eventually the wide path split into two and the Fellowship was brought to a halt. Aragorn consulted Reowyn as to which path to take, but the Elf lady had no answers.  
One path sloped towards the river, while the other forked slightly to the left. Each path was like in all aspects but Reowyn insisted only one would safely lead the Fellowship out.  
For an hour they puzzled over which path was right before Aragorn decided the right path would be the best one to take. Reowyn reluctantly followed him, and the Fellowship was on their way.  
  
Andtauriel woke suddenly to discover the group of newcomers gone and the sun high. She leapt down from her tree branch and began to run down the path, wondering how she could have slept for so long. The trail left by the newcomers was faint, but it didn't matter. There was only one path through the forest up to a point, and to venture off it would be suicide. Besides, there was nothing that traveled through this forest that escaped her eye.  
Andtauriel continued down the path and arrived at the fork in the road half an hour after the Fellowship. Here the trail was fresh, and Andtauriel had no trouble picking out the trail left by the newcomers to her wood. It did not take long for her to find which path they had chosen to go down. She looked down the roads and found that her fears were founded - they had chosen the right hand path.  
"Oh no. Oh oh no." she moaned, and took off after them at a run.  
  
The path through the wood became steadily darker. Once more, Frodo felt as though he was being watched, but not by the same being who had followed the Fellowship for the past day. Every so often he caught glimpses of red eyes staring at him through the foliage, only to disappear and be replaced with ones even more sinister. Boromir had drawn his sword and Legolas had set an arrow in his bow. Every so often a plaintive wail in the distance would shatter the quiet. At length the silence was broken by Legolas.  
"I do not like the look of this path." he said, gazing about.  
"I like not so much the look of this place as the sound. It sets my teeth on edge." Gimli said gruffly, his hand straying to the axe at his belt. The wailing was growing louder, and closer.  
"I fear I have chosen the wrong way." Aragorn said, gazing back down the steadily darkening path.  
"We must go back," Reowyn insisted. "If I can find Andtauriel, I'm sure she could -"  
"This Andtauriel is certainly a shy lady. Why does she not show her face when her so called "friend" is in danger?" Boromir asked of the elf lady, casting a suspicious gaze at her. "Perhaps she doesn't even exist. And perhaps. . ."  
"This is no time for blaming, Boromir." Aragorn said as Reowyn steadily grew angrier. Boromir opened his mouth to retaliate, but he was silenced by a gesture from Legolas.  
"Something is coming." he said, his eyes growing wide. The sky suddenly seemed to grow darker as a fear gripped Frodos heart. The ground suddenly seemed to shake beneath his feet. It was closely followed by another deep boom, and another, each growing steadily louder. Instantly his mind flew to the Balrog - of it's heavy footfalls and it's dark shadow in the Mines of Moria. Far away the tops of the great trees began to shake in the distance, growing closer. As suddenly as it had begun, the loud footfalls stopped. Terror was apparent on Aragorns face   
"We must turn back. Run!" he shouted suddenly, and turned to flee down the path as the bushes around them suddenly shook violently. Boromir drew his sword, but Legolas pushed him down the path.  
"You cannot compete with this! Run, fool!" he cried, and took off. As Boromir turned to follow the retreating Fellowship, a great brown creature like a starved troll flung a long hand down the path and snatched at the corner of his elven cloak. With a great tear Boromir ripped the cloak off the forest-troll's claws and ran down the path after the Fellowship. He wasn't quick enough. With a great swipe of it's long arms, it knocked Boromir off the path and into a great tree.  
It seemed to Frodo that the very trees were reaching up to slow his progress, forcing their roots through the path to grab his ankles. Several times he nearly fell. In time it appeared that the trees were reaching out with their branches, pushing him back towards the monster that wailed for his blood. A vine lashed out of nowhere and coiled around his neck. He tore at it but it stopped him short, and Pippin ran into him. The two hobbits fell over. Pippin struggled off of Frodo and reached out a hand to help him, but the forest troll swiped him aside as it had Boromir with a single stroke. Frodo struggled to get to his feet but a strong hand seized him roughly and jagged claws bit his skin. He thought he was about to be thrown like Boromir and Pippin, but the creature began to drag him towards it with it's long arms. Abruptly the bow of Legolas sang and the forest toll dropped Frodo and screamed, shaking it's hand in an attempt to remove the arrow buried between it's thick fingers. Frodo began to scramble away as the elf's arrows flew, but to the surprise of the remaining members of the Fellowship, the carefully crafted arrows bounced off the hard skin of the forest troll. One or two found their way into a soft spot, but for the most part the arrows went un-noticed. Reowyn and Aragorn drew their swords and ran foreword as the creature reached out to grab Frodo again. As Reowyn swung her sword at the hand reaching towards Frodo, the forest troll snapped a vine hanging from a nearby tree and swung it at the lady elf. Her sword flew from her hands and the creature thrust her back and into Aragorn. Reowyn lay un-moving as Aragorn pushed her aside. Sam and Merry ran back, their swords in their hands, but before they were able to reach Frodo the trees seemed to come alive, and reached out to coil vines around the hobbits' necks and hold them fast to the ground with roots that broke through the beaten soil of the path. The axe of Gimli swung, and the bow of Legolas sang and vines and roots were severed, but in a great movement of a long, snakelike branch Gimli's axe was torn from his hand and Legolas' bow was lost. He grabbed his long knife and began to slice at the vines twining their way around his limbs. Frodo tried to stand and draw his own sword, but a great root pulled him down. The forest troll reached to him for the last time, it's eyes blazing. Frodo felt the Ring, straining on it's chain - the creature wanted the Ring! Frodo reached up the pull the chain back, as the great clawed hand drew ever closer. . .  
  
Andtauriel could hear the screams, the bloodthirsty wails, the cries for help, and as she ran after the Fellowship she could only hope she would be early enough to save them. Reowyn - her only friend in years - would be lost if she didn't hurry. And then there was the matter of that hobbit. . . but why was he on her mind?  
Her thoughts were cut short as a vine whipped from a nearby tree and coiled around her wrist, as a root grabbed her ankle. She frowned - she had let herself become careless again. She reached down with her good hand to the sheath on her belt and pulled out her sword. It flashed, and the vines making their way towards her faltered and pulled back, away from the light. The roots released her ankle and she continued, sword in hand. As she ran, the dark and twisted trees shrank and leaned their branches far from her sword. Andtauriel leapt surprisingly high for her small stature over a fallen tree in the path and beheld the Fellowship - her eyes straying from the hobbits and dwarf trapped by the trees to Reowyn, unconscious as ivy crept over her body, to the forest-troll, reaching to the dark haired hobbit. Andtauriel rushed foreword, her sword blazing, and with a single stroke sliced away the ivy binding her friend to the ground before running on, the trees recoiling from the light of her sword, to jump through the air and land between the hobbit and the troll.  
"Return to the shadows!" she cried, her sword blazing like white fire. The creature faltered and let out a scream and covered it's eyes. Andtauriel thrust her sword towards it.  
"Be gone! Heed my command!" she called. "You shall harm nothing!"  
The creature roared in pain at the light and with a final lunge jumped at the small swordswoman. Andtauriel pulled her shining blade back and with a thrust drove it deep into the forest troll's armored hide. A blinding flash erupted and the creature let out a piercing scream. Abruptly the light faded, and the forest troll fell. 


End file.
